Folding article of furniture



Sept. 15, 1936. J. KOVATS FOLDING ARTICLE OF FURNITURE Filed March 1, 1932 I I I I v 11 (Xttorneg Patented Sept. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES FOLDING ARTICLE OF FURNITURE V John Kovats, Fair-field, Conn., assignor to The Leg-O-Matic Oompany,. Bridgeport, C0nn., a corporation of Connecticut Application March 1, 1932, Serial No. 595,983

23 Claims. (Cl. 311--98) t This invention relates to improvements in hinge connections for folding articles of furniture, and more particularly to an improved hinge connection for portable folding tables of the kind employed for playing cards and like purposes.

Heretoforait has been customary to provide many articles of furniture, and especially card tables, with folding legs so that they may be conveniently stored when not in regular use, but in most of these proposals the legs were but fiimsily supported in extended position and the table would sometimes collapse in one or more of the corners during use. To overcome this disadvantage some folding leg structures have been developed with positive locking devices, but these have the disadvantage of necessitating considerable manualmanipulation both to lock the legs in the extended position and to unlock the legs when it is desired to collapse the table for storage. Further, in many of these previous proposals the pivotal connection between the leg and the body of the article of furniture could not be very substantial and consequently the table would be wobbly in use and prompt a feeling of insecurity in the minds of the users.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved hinge connection and leg bracing means which will serve to keep the legs in extended position once the table is set up or the legs extended.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a support which will keep the legs in folded condition once the table is collapsed for storage;

The present invention accomplishes these objects and provides an especially advantageous construction which besides rigidly supporting the leg of an article of furniture in extended position is adapted to resiliently urge or force the leg into its fully extended position should the user fail to move it fully into the extended position, and according to the present invention this same mechanism tends to force or urge the leg into the folded position when the table is folded for storage. I

The hinge connection of the present invention also provides the movable member of the hinge V with a channeled portion to lock and align the leg at the time of assembly and to support it during use. Further, it provides a wide spaced edge-to-edge contact between the fixed and movable parts of the hinge connection to prevent the leg from tilting and provides a novel stop arrangement for limiting travel of the movable section of the hinge into extended p i i n.

These and other objects and advantages will v hereinafterbe;described in greater detail.

In the drawing- V Figure. l is'a sectional View of a table with the hinge connections of the present invention sup- 5 porting two legs in extended position including aside view and a back view of the hinge connections in extended position.

- Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. l, but shows the hinge connections of the present invention in 10; folded position. 7

Fig. 3 isa perspective view of the back of the hinge connection of the present invention in extended position. Fig. 4 is a side view of a modified present invention.

Referring to the drawing, the hinge-connection of the present invention is preferably disclosed as embodiedin a card table comprising a rectangular frame Ill made-with four side-bars 2Q Ii extending at right angles to each other 'and provided with a recess l2 to accommodate a central board l3 upon which cards may be played or food may be served. 7

The hinge connection of the present invention 25 comprises a base or stationary member M for attachment to a body In of the article of furniture with screws [5 and a movable plate or leg supporting member l6 having a pivotal connection I! with the main section. The stationary 39 member is, according to the present invention, preferably made in a substantially U-shaped form with three sides comprising the long inner side Wall l8, the intermediate wall l9 and the short outer wall 20 which is parallel with the inner 35 side wall. The walls l8 and I9 fit-flat against the inner sides of adjacent frame side bars II to be fastened thereto with the screws l5.- Preferably, wood screws areused which pass through holes provided therefor in the stationary mem- 40 her l4 and when tightened pull the latter securely against the side bars. This arrangement is such that the member l4 serves to brace the side members and effectively prevent them from relative spreading. V The movable member l6 of the hinge connection preferably comprises a sheet metal plate provided with an integral barrel 2| which is just wide enough to fit between the sides l8 and 20 wherethe pin 22 may be passed through the 50 barrel and into holes in the two side walls to complete the pivotal connection l1. Preferably, the side walls l8 and 20 of the stationary member are spaced wide apart and the barrel. section -of the movable member is made wide in or form of the 15.

der to provide a rigid connection between the two which prevents the movable member and leg carried thereby from tilting or wobbling longitudinally relative to the pin; viz, with a short length bearing, a slight difference in the hole and pin size would allow the lower end of the movable member and leg supported thereby to wobble. The present wide spaced support makes it possible to manufacture the parts without maintaining close manufacturing tolerances and thereby also facilitates the work of assembling the various parts.

The movable member I6 is also provided with a channel 23 for comparatively free and easy sidewise reception of the upper end of a leg 24. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the channel comprises a back Wall 24a and two integral side walls 25 and 26 to engage the outer'face 21 and embrace the sides 28 and 29 of a substantially rectangular form of leg to align it relative to the base member l4 and to insure and maintain proper disposition of the leg relative to the base member and relative to the body portion of the article of furniture to which the latter is attached. By having a three-sided channel 23 the leg may be freely and easily assembled thereto by merely moving it sidewise relative to the plate and connecting it thereto with studs 36. Thus, it provides many advantages of a socket or circular bore type of construction but does not require such a close fit as the latter nor the usual longitudinal force fit required by the socket type of connection.

On its upper end the movable member I6 is provided with a stop section 3| preferably formed inwardly of the channel section to abut the top end 32 of the leg to limit upward movement of the leg in the channel.

Rigidity of this portion'of the connection is further enhanced by having the channel section ofthe movable member l6 preferably disposed substantially midway or centrally of the barrel section. In addition, the present invention provides a metal-to-metal stop 33 between the movable member and stationary member which adds further to the rigidity of the leg in extended position; This stop comprises an edge 34 on the intermediate wall IQ of the stationary member M which engages the stop section 3| on the movable member |6 as the leg reaches the extended position which, preferably, engages the edge 34 fully across the intermediate wall and across the full width of the stop section 3|. Thus, there is provided a double arrangement for preventing the leg from tilting in either direction 1ongitudinally of the pin 22. In addition to stopping leg movement to extended position the stop 33 prevents the leg from'tilting outwardly of the table when the table is in use.

The channel 23 in the movable member l6 prevents the leg from tilting relativeto the movable member even if the studs 30 should become slightly loose, insures a straight disposi tion of theleg relative to'the table and floor in final assembly and the stop section 3| insures an even length of all the legs between the table andthe fioor.' V h h 'A further feature of this'hinvention which should be particularly noted is the provision of mechanism to force the leg into the extended position and maintain it there once the user consciously moves the leg toward the extended position a'predetermined extent and mechanism to similarly force the leg to folded position and maintain it there after the user moves h g from the extended position toward the folded position a certain extent.

Preferably, this mechanism comprises a pair of toggle links 35 and 36 having a lower pivot connection 31 to a side of the movable member l6 and an upper pivot connection 38 to the side |8 of the stationary member, or to the leg 24 and side bar II respectively although this is not so satisfactory. These are yieldingly urged into either the extended position shown in Fig. 1, or into the closed position shown in Fig. 2 by a compression spring 39. This spring is preferably connected to the side bar I with the screw 48, sufficient space being left under the head of the screw so that the spring may move arcuately therearound and is connected at its other right angle bent end 4| to a notch or hole 42 in an upper extension 43 portion of the upper link 36.

Location of the screw 40 is such that the end 42 of. the compression spring is substantially on. the center line 44 between the screw 40 and the upper pivot 38 when the leg 24 is approximately midway between the folded and extended positions. It thereby serves to exert a considerable pressure against the upper toggle link in the direction of the arrow 45 when the leg gets to a position slightly beyond the midpoint in extended direction, and the spring'pressure in turn tends to move the toggle links 35 and 36 in the direction of the arrow 46 and thereby the leg and movable hinge member IS in the direction of the arrow 41. Thus, if the operator or user should fail to move the leg 24 fully into extended position the spring 39 would correct this inadvertent failure. In addition, the spring maintains the leg in the extended position where the three pivots 31, 38, and 48 are in a straight line so that the latter with the links 35 and 36 are maintained as an effective stop to prevent the leg from tilting inwardly of the table.

To close or fold the leg again it is merely neces-' sary for the user to press on the pair of toggle links 35 and 36 near the intermediate pivot 48 and after 'the intermediate pivot is out of a straight line between the two end pivots 31 and 38 the leg may be moved about the main pivot toward the folded position with ease. After the leg is manually moved slightly beyond the midpoint in a direction toward the underside of the table into the folded position the extension 43 on the upper toggle link 36 carries the straight end 42 of the spring 39 below the center line 44 between the screw 46 and upper pivot 38 so that the spring now exerts a pressure'in the direction of the-arrow 50' which in turn moves the pair of toggle links in the direction of the arrow 5| so that the movable member I8 .of the hinge connection'and leg 24 are moved in the direction of the arrow 52 to the folded position against the underside of the table as shown in Fig; 2. The spring thus serves to facilitate movement of the legs into the folded position, insures travel of the leg fully to the folded position should the operator or user inadvertently fail to fully so move it, and maintains the legs in the folded position toggle links into the extended position under. the influence of the springifi otherwise the spring would continue movement in th'e direction of the arrow. 14.5 and carry theslinkin a counterclockwise di-rect-ion about the upper pivot :38 to again start the logs to :collapse.. Preferably, this stop comprises ahead 53 on escrow 5| 5 which is properly located with respect to the toggle links by the provision of a suitable hole in the side wall of the plate. The screw l5 may be either a machine 'screwo-r a stud fixed to theside wall .4 8,, or it may be a wood screw with a suitably shaped head having a shank sectionadaptedto pass through the hole in the plate to be locatedtherebyqand at the same time assist in clamping the station- .ary member 1-4 to the article furniture. If desired, the extension 43 on the upper toggle link 36 may be shaped to' engage. the flat underside of. the table board 13 and servezas a stop.

In the modification shown .Fig. 4 the hinge connection comprises "a base member 14' verysimilar to the base member I 4 as shown with the preferred form of the invention shown in Figs-.1

to 3 inclusive, but with this form the inner-side Wall I8 is made slightly longerso that a spring .supporti-ng stud 4;! may be mounted directly upon-the hinge connection, rather than on the per extension, i3 on the latter .to limit itsmovement in a counterclockwise direction about the pivot 38 and to thereby stop movement of the movable member l6 and leg carried thereby into the extended position. If preferred, these two features may with facility .be embodied in the prefrred form of the invention shown inFigs. l to 3. This modification also comprises a movable member .lfi' with .a semicircular channel .55 for the sidewise reception of a circular leg 55, rather than a rectangular leg 24 as .shownin Figs. .1 to .3, but .likethe former form is adapted to easily and quickly receive the leg and to align it relative to the base member 14 and the article of furniture upon which the hinge connection is mounted.

Other variations and modificationsmay be made within the scope of this invention and .por-

tions of the improvements may be used without others. 7 i

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which it is desired to obtain Letters Patent, is.:-- r

1. A folding leg construction comprising .a substantially U-shaped bracket for attachment to an article of furniture; a wide .stop edge on said bracket; a leg; a plate adapted .tobe fastened to aside of the leg having a wide barrel portion; a pivotal connection supporting said plate on the bracket; and a wide stop section on the plate of substantially the same width'as the barrel portion adapted to be moved about the pivotal connection into engagement with the wide edge on said bracket to limit movement of the plate and leg carried thereby about the pivot connection into extended position and to support them in the extended position. v

2. A hinge connection for {folding articles of furniture comprising a base member for attachment to the body of the'article of furniture; -a

movable member for'attachment to a'leg; .a pivot pin connecting said mova'ble'member to the base member for movement into folded and extended position; a pair of toggle links having .a pivot connecti-on at :one end-with the base member and at its other end with the movablemeniber:;.zand a spring acting upon .said pair of toggle links to urge themovable member into extended position after the leg has been moved from the folded posi- 1 tion toward theextended position a predetermined extent.-

3. A hinge connection for folding articles-of furniture comprising a base member for attach- .nection at one end with the base member and at its other end with the movable member; :and :a spring acting upon said pair of toggle links to urge .the toggle links and interconnected movable member into the closed position after the movable member h-ais been moved fromxthe extended position toward the folded position a predetermined extent." '4. A hinge connection for folding articles of furniture comprising a base member :for attachment to the body of the article of furniture; :a movable .member for attachment to .a leg; a pivot pin connecting said movable member to the base member for movement into folded and extended position;.a pair of toggle links shavings pivot connection at one end with the base member and :at its other end "with the movable member; and a double-acting spring connected to said toggle links and adapted to urge the toggle links and interconnected movable member into the folded and extended positions.

5.. hing-e connection'for :fold-ing articles of furniture comprising a base member for attachment to a body portion of. the article of furniture; a'stop on the base member; a movable member for suppont-ing a leg; a'pivot pinieonnecting the movable member to the stationary member for movement into folded and extended :position; :a pair of toggle links having a lower pivotal connection with the movable member and ,an upper pivotal connection with the base member; :and :an

extension on said toggle links above the furniture comprising a stationary member provided with holes for the passage of screws; a mouable member for supporting a leg; a pivot pin 7 connecting the movable member to the stationary member for movement into folded and extended position; a pair of toggle links having a pivotal connection at one end with the -movable member and at its other end with the stationary member;

and a-screw adapted to pass into one of the holes in .the stationary member to be located thereby so that it engages one of the toggle links. to limit movement of the toggle links when the movable member reaches extended position.

"7.. A hinge connection for folding articles of a pivot pin connecting the movable member to the stationary member for movement into .iiolded and extended position; a pair of toggle links having a pivotal connection at one end with the movable member and at its other end with the stationary member; and a screw adapted to pass into one of the holes in the stationary member and intothe article of furniture to be located thereby and conjointly assist in attaching the stationary member to the article of furniture and to engage one of the toggle links to limit movement of the toggle links when the movable member reaches extended position.

8. A hinge connection for folding articles of furniture comprising a stationary member; a movable member; a pivot pin connecting said movable -member to the stationary member for movement into folded and extended position; a pair of toggle links having a lower pivot connection with the movable member and an upper pivotal connection with the stationary member; a compression spring; and a stud for connecting said spring to the stationary member, and the other end of the spring being connected to an end of the toggle links, said spring being in its most compressed condition when the toggle link moves the end of the spring connected thereto so that it is substantially in a straight line with the stud and the upper pivot and being arranged to urge the movable member into a folded position when the link carries the end of the spring beyond the center line in one direction and to urge the movable member into an extended position when the link carries the end of the spring beyond the center line in the other direction.

9. A hinge connection for folding articles of furniture comprising a stationary member; a movable member; a pivot pin connection therebetween, said stationary member having flat sides with an edgewise disposition relative to the movable member for fiat placement and attachment to the inner face of side members of the article of furniture to brace and prevent relative spreading of the side members; a cross wall on the stationary member; and an arm on the movable member bent transversely with respect to the general plane of the movable member, and forming a part of the pivot pin connection, adapted to engage the cross wall and thereby locate and support the movable member in a predetermined position.

10. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; and means acting on the legs during the whole movement thereof for forcing the legs into either folded or extended position automatically according to which position the legs are nearest.

11. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; a pair of toggle links individual to each leg for locking the latter in extended position; and means acting on said toggle links for automatically holding the legs in folded position when moved to such position.

12. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; a pair of toggle links individual to each leg for locking the latter in extended position; and yielding means acting on said toggle links for automatically holding the legs in folded position when moved to such position against casual displacement therefrom.

13. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; means connecting each leg to the table top; and means yieldingly acting on said connecting means when the leg passes a position substantially midway between extended and folded positions when approaching extended position for causing the connecting means to automatically complete the movement of the leg into extended operative position.

14. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; toggle links connecting each leg to the table top; and means yieldingly'acting on said toggle links for causing the latter to automatically complete the movement of the leg into folded inoperative position when the leg approaches that position.

15. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; toggle links connecting each leg to the table top; and means acting on the toggle links for holding the legs in the folded position against casual movement.

16. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; means connecting each leg to the table top; and means yieldingly acting on said connecting means during substantially the whole movement of the leg for causing the connecting means to automatically complete the movement of the leg into either folded or extended positions according to which position the leg is nearest.

17. In .a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; means connecting each leg to the table top; and means yieldingly acting on said connecting means for causing the latter to automatically complete the movement of the leg into either folded or extended positions as the legs approach either the one or the other of said positions respectively, said means acting to cause the legs to be positively locked in extended position and to be held in folded position against casual displacement.

18. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; and means individual to each leg and acting on the leg during substantially the whole movement of the latter for forcing the leg into either folded or extended position automatically according to which position the leg is nearest. j

19. In a folding table, the combination of a table top; a plurality of legs; means for hinging the legs on the table top for movement to and from extended and folded positions; and means acting on each leg when the latter passes a position substantially midway between extended and folded positions when approaching extended position for forcing the latter into extended operative position,

20. In a folding table, a table top frame, an angle plate secured in the inner corner of the frame, a folding leg hinged to the angle plate, a two armed folding lever having its arms pivoted to the angle plate and leg respectively, a spring connecting one lever arm and angle plate for throwing the lever arms past center to lock the leg unfolded, .and a stop on the angle plate for limiting the throw of the lever arms past center.

21. In a folding table, a table top frame, an angle plate secured in the inner corner of the frame and having a lateral branch terminating in an inwardly turned lip, a pivot pin extending from the lip to the plate, a folding leg, a plate secured thereto and pivoted to said pin, a folding lever having its arms pivoted to the angle plate and leg plate respectively, and a spring connecting one lever arm and angle plate branch for throwing the lever arms past center to lock the leg unfolded.

22. In a folding table, a table top frame, an angle plate secured in the inner corner of the frame and having a lateral branch terminating in an inwardly turned lip, a pivot pin extending from the lip to the plate, a folding leg, a plate secured thereto and pivoted to said pin, a folding lever having its arms pivoted to the angle plate and leg plate respectively, a spring connecting one lever arm and angle plate branch for throwing the lever arms past center to lock the leg unfolded, and a stop on the angle plate for limiting the throw of the lever arms past center.

23. In a folding table, a table top frame, an angle plate secured in the inner corner of the frame and having a. lateral branch terminating in an inwardly turned lip, a pivot pin extending from the lip to the plate, a folding leg, a plate secured thereto and pivoted to said pin, a two armed folding lever having its arms pivoted to the angle plate and leg plate respectively, and a spring connecting one lever arm and angle plate branch for throwing the lever arms past center to lock the leg unfolded.

JOHN KOVATS. 

